Dynamic virtual termination target based on RF conditions

ABSTRACT

A method and system is disclosed for dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise. In accordance with an example embodiment, upon determining that a frame transmission from an access terminal has not been successfully decoded during a nominal frame period, a base station will commence an extended decoding interval. The base station will also determine a duration for the extended decoding interval based on a measured signal-to-noise transmission power level from the access terminal. The base station will use the determined duration for the extended decoding interval. The determination will be made so as to increase the likelihood the extended decoding interval will result in a successful decoding of a frame of data.

BACKGROUND

In a typical cellular radio communication system (wireless communication system), an area is divided geographically into a number of cell sites, each defined by a radio frequency (RF) radiation pattern from a respective base transceiver station (BTS) antenna. The base station antennas in the cells are in turn coupled to a base station controller (BSC), which is then coupled to a telecommunications switch or gateway, such as a mobile switching center (MSC) and/or a packet data serving node (PDSN) for instance. The switch or gateway may then be coupled with a transport network, such as the PSTN or a packet-switched network (e.g., the Internet).

When an access terminal (such as a cellular telephone, pager, or appropriately equipped portable computer, for instance) is positioned in a cell, the access terminal (also referred to herein by “AT”) communicates via an RF air interface with the BTS antenna of the cell. Consequently, a communication path is established between the AT and the transport network, via the air interface, the BTS, the BSC and the switch or gateway. Functioning collectively to provide wireless (i.e., RF) access to services and transport in the wireless communication system, the BTS, BSC, MSC, and PDSN, comprise (possibly with additional components) what is typically referred as a Radio Access Network (RAN).

As the demand for wireless communications has grown, the volume of call traffic in most cell sites has correspondingly increased. To help manage the call traffic, most cells in a wireless network are usually further divided geographically into a number of sectors, each defined respectively by radiation patterns from directional antenna components of the respective BTS, or by respective BTS antennas. These sectors can be referred to as “physical sectors,” since they are physical areas of a cell site. Therefore, at any given instant, an access terminal in a wireless network will typically be positioned in a given physical sector and will be able to communicate with the transport network via the BTS serving that physical sector.

As an access terminal moves between wireless coverage areas of a wireless communication system, such as between cells or sectors, or when network conditions change or for other reasons, the AT may “hand off” from operating in one coverage area to operating in another coverage area. In a usual case, this handoff process is triggered by the access terminal monitoring the signal strength of various nearby available coverage areas, and the access terminal or the BSC (or other controlling network entity) determining when one or more threshold criteria are met. For instance, the AT may continuously monitor signal strength from various available sectors and notify the BSC when a given sector has a signal strength that is sufficiently higher than the sector in which the AT is currently operating. The BSC may then direct the AT to hand off to that other sector.

In some wireless communication systems or markets, a wireless service provider may implement more than one type of air interface protocol. For example, a carrier may support one or another version of CDMA, such as EIA/TIA/IS-2000 Rel. 0, A, and CDMA 2000 Spread Spectrum Systems Revision E (either hereafter referred to generally as “IS-2000”) for both circuit-cellular voice and data traffic, as well as a more exclusively packet-data-oriented protocol such as EIA/TIA/IS-856 Rel. 0, A, or other version thereof (hereafter “IS-856”). Access terminals operating in such systems may be capable of communication with either or both protocols, and may further be capable of handing off between them, in addition to being able to hand off between various configurations of coverage areas.

OVERVIEW

An AT receives data from a base station on a “forward link” and sends data to the base station on a “reverse link.” Hence, on the forward link, the base station transmits and the access terminal receives, while on the reverse link, the access terminal transmits and the base station receives. Under CDMA and related protocols, the transmission power of a “sending entity” (base station on the forward link, access terminal on the reverse link) is adjusted according to an adaptive power-control protocol that uses a form of feedback from a “receiving entity” (access terminal on the forward link, base station on the reverse link). Specifically, the receiving entity monitors an error rate of data received from a particular sending entity in order to responsively set a target power level of received power from the particular sending entity that needs to be achieved in order to maintain the error rate at some preset, acceptable level. As operating conditions change, the receiving entity may adjust the target power level accordingly. The receiving entity also continually compares the actual received power from the particular sending entity with the target power level, and then sends power-control commands to the particular sending entity that instruct the particular sending entity to adjust its transmission power level so as to achieve the target power level, as measured at the receiving entity.

The error-rate monitoring and setting of the target power level are carried out on a time scale that is long compared with that used for sending the power-control commands. Thus, the setting of the target power level is aimed at responding to relatively gradual changes in received-power requirements, while the power-control commands are aimed at relatively rapid achievement of received-power requirements once they have been determined according to the target power level. As discussed below, the target power level corresponds to a parameter that is commonly referred to as a “setpoint.”

Each power-control command is typically either a “power-increment” command, instructing the sending entity to increase its transmission power by a small amount, or a “power-decrement” command, instructing the sending entity to decrease its transmission power by a small amount. In practice, the receiving entity sends a continuous stream or sequence of periodic power-control commands to the sending entity. The process of achieving the received-power at the target power level at the receiving entity can be thought of conceptually as a sort of “coarse” adjustment that brings the actual received power to near-convergence with the target power level, followed by continuous “fine” adjustments aimed at keeping the actual received power very close to the target power level (until another coarse adjustment becomes necessary). The coarse adjustment compensates for roughly discontinuous shifts between the actual received power and the target power level (e.g., when the target power level is adjusted, or operating conditions suddenly change), and typically entails the sending entity responding to a sequence of consecutive power-increment commands or consecutive power-decrement commands from the receiving entity. The fine adjustments generally comprise a sequence of alternating power-increment and power-decrement commands that cause the actual received power to fluctuate slightly above and below the target power level as the sending entity sequentially responds to each command.

The receiving entity monitors the error rate of transmissions received from a given sending entity according to its ability (or lack thereof) to successfully decode those received transmissions and recover the information carried therein. On the reverse link from a given access terminal to a base station, data are typically transmitted in units of frames, and the base station measures the received error rate in terms of its ability to decode individual frames. Each frame corresponds to a specific time window, and the amount of data carried in a frame depends on the particular encoding scheme employed. Decoding of received transmissions is carried out on a frame-by-frame basis, whereby a given frame is deemed in error if it is not successfully recovered by the end of the corresponding frame time window. The base station may then increase the target power level (i.e., setpoint) applied to the given access terminal in response to a single frame error or to an error rate averaged over a number of frames. In turn, the base station will issue power-increment commands to the given access terminal that cause the access terminal to increase its reverse-link transmission power, thereby improving the base station's ability to decode subsequent frames from the given access terminal.

Recent technological advances have led to improved efficiency of air interface resources of wireless communication systems. In particular, an ability to subtract various sources of noise and interference from a received transmission from a given access terminal can be applied to a period of extended frame decoding that begins when a nominal frame period ends in unsuccessful decoding. By doing so, the received frame can sometimes be successfully decoded during the extended decoding interval, thereby increasing the rate of successful reception of reverse-link data. At the end of the extended decoding interval, the target power level (setpoint) for the given access terminal may be increased if decoding was still unsuccessful or if all or most of the extended decoding interval was required to recover the frame. Alternatively, if a frame is successfully decoded sufficiently early in an extended decoding interval, the base station can retain the current target power level for the access terminal, thereby helping to avoid additional contributions to reverse-link interference that would otherwise result.

An extended decoding interval only occurs if decoding during the nominal frame period that precedes it fails to successfully decode a frame. The likelihood that an extended decoding interval will result in a successfully decoded frame will generally depend on various factors, among them the signal strength of the given access terminal as received at the base station (usually measured in one or another form of signal-to-noise), and the duration of the extended decoding interval. The higher the received signal strength, the greater the likelihood of successful decoding. Likewise, the longer the duration of the extended decoding interval, the greater the likelihood of successful decoding. It follows that the likelihood of successful decoding is further increased if both conditions—higher signal strength and longer duration of extended decoding—are met at the same time. However, neither condition is typically under the control of the operator of a wireless communication system on a time scale over which possible adjustments could benefit extended decoding.

More particularly, received signal-to-noise depends on factors that typically change with time and that are, in any case, generally beyond the control of the operator, such as the distance between the given access terminal and the base station, and interference and noise from other sources (e.g., other access terminals, reflections of signals off of nearby structures, etc.). And in conventional operation, the duration of the extended decoding interval is a fixed system parameter that is changed only from time to time by the operator of the wireless communication system. Thus, while the received signal-to-noise from an access terminal is dynamic, the receiving base station cannot in conventional operation responsively adjust the duration of the extended decoding interval so as to optimize the effectiveness of the interval. It would therefore be desirable to be able to dynamically adjust the duration of extended decoding based on received signal-to-noise.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/781,898, filed May 18, 2010 and incorporated herein by reference for all purposes, discloses example embodiments of a method and system for dynamic setpoint adjustment in which the setpoint may be increased gradually over the course of an extended frame decoding. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/815,100, filed Jun. 14, 2010 and incorporated herein by reference for all purposes, discloses example embodiments of a method and system for enhanced setpoint adjustment whereby the current value of the setpoint is used to determine a particular time during the extended decoding interval at which the setpoint is adjusted. The present disclosure describes embodiments for a method and system of determining the duration of an extended decoding interval based on a received signal strength from an access terminal as measured by a base station (or other RAN element).

Hence in one respect, various embodiments of the present invention provide, in a base station having an air interface, a method comprising: at the base station, during a nominal time interval equal to one frame, receiving a transmission on the air interface from an access terminal being served by the base station; at the base station, upon completion of the nominal time interval, making a determination that the transmission has not been successfully decoded into a frame of data; at the base station, in response to making the determination, commencing an extended decoding interval during which attempted decoding of the transmission continues; at the base station, making a signal-to-noise measurement of transmission power received on the air interface from the access terminal; at the base station, determining an end time of the extended decoding interval based on the signal-to-noise measurement, the determined end time being measured from a time of completion of the nominal time interval; and at the base station, continuing attempted decoding of the transmission until the determined end time of the extended decoding interval.

In another respect, various embodiments of the present invention provide, a base station comprising: means for receiving a transmission on a air interface from an access terminal being served by the base station during a nominal time interval equal to one frame; means for making a determination that the transmission has not been successfully decoded into a frame of data upon completion of the nominal time interval; means for responding to making the determination by commencing an extended decoding interval during which attempted decoding of the transmission continues; means for making a signal-to-noise measurement of transmission power received on the air interface from the access terminal; means for determining an end time of the extended decoding interval based on the signal-to-noise measurement, wherein the determined end time is measured from a time of completion of the nominal time interval; and means for continuing attempted decoding of the transmission until the determined end time of the extended decoding interval.

In yet another respect, various embodiments of the present invention provide, in a device configured to control a plurality of wireless coverage areas of a wireless communication system, the plurality including at least a first wireless coverage area and a second wireless coverage area, a method comprising: at the device, receiving from the first wireless coverage area a first signal-to-noise measurement of transmission power received at the first wireless coverage area from a given access terminal; at the device, receiving from the second wireless coverage area a second signal-to-noise measurement of transmission power received at the second wireless coverage area from the given access terminal; at the device, determining a first time duration of a first extended decoding interval based at least on the received first signal-to-noise measurement, wherein the first extended decoding interval is an interval of continued decoding carried out by the first wireless coverage area when a preceding first nominal interval of decoding by the first wireless coverage area of a transmission from the given access terminal fails to decode a frame of data; at the device, determining a second time duration of a second extended decoding interval based at least on the received second signal-to-noise measurement, wherein the second extended decoding interval is an interval of continued decoding carried out by the second wireless coverage area when a preceding second nominal interval of decoding by the second wireless coverage area of a transmission from the given access terminal fails to decode a frame of data; at the device, transmitting a first message including the first time duration to the first wireless coverage area; and at the device, transmitting a second message including the second time duration to the second wireless coverage area.

In still another respect, various embodiments of the present invention provide, a tangible computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, if executed a processor of a base station, cause the base station to perform functions comprising: during a nominal time interval equal to one frame, receiving a transmission on an air interface from an access terminal being served by the base station; upon completion of the nominal time interval, making a determination that the transmission has not been successfully decoded into a frame of data; in response to making the determination, commencing an extended decoding interval during which attempted decoding of the transmission continues; making a signal-to-noise measurement of transmission power received on the air interface from the access terminal; determining an end time of the extended decoding interval based on the signal-to-noise measurement, the determined end time being measured from a time of completion of the nominal time interval; and continuing attempted decoding of the transmission until the determined end time of the extended decoding interval.

These as well as other aspects, advantages, and alternatives will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the following detailed description, with reference where appropriate to the accompanying drawings. Further, it should be understood that this summary and other descriptions and figures provided herein are intended to illustrate the invention by way of example only and, as such, that numerous variations are possible. For instance, structural elements and process steps can be rearranged, combined, distributed, eliminated, or otherwise changed, while remaining within the scope of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an example embodiment of dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a wireless communication system in which example embodiments of dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise can be employed.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of extended frame decoding intervals at two representative base stations.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of extended frame decoding intervals at two representative base stations, wherein the durations of the extended frame decoding intervals are determined based on respective signal-to-noise measures at each base station.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example Look-Up Table for correlating measured signal-to-noise with duration of extended decoding interval.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of logical process steps for implementing an embodiment of dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example base station (or other RAN element) in which dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise could be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will be described by way of example with reference to Code Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”) communications in general, and to IS-856 and IS-2000 communications in particular. As described below, IS-2000 applies to both circuit-cellular and packet-data communications, and is referred to herein as “conventional” CDMA communications. IS-856 applies more exclusively to packet-data communications (including, e.g., real-time voice and data applications), and is referred to herein as “high rate” packet-data communications. It should be understood that the present invention can apply to other wireless voice and data protocols including, without limitation, IS-95 and GSM, which, together with IS-856 and IS-2000 are considered herein, individually or in combination, to comprise a CDMA family of protocols.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an example embodiment of a method of dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise. By way of example, the method could be carried out by a base station or other RAN element that operates according to a CDMA family of protocols, including at least CDMA 2000 Spread Spectrum Systems Revision E. Further, the base station may be considered as serving an access terminal that also operates according to a CDMA family of protocols. Communication between the base station and the access terminal is carried out an air interface that supports both forward and reverse links.

At step 102, during a nominal time interval equal to one frame, the base station receives a transmission on the air interface from the access terminal. As described above and further explained below, under IS-2000 and related protocols, an access terminal transmits data on its reverse link to its serving base station in units of frames. One frame is typically 20 milliseconds (ms) in duration, though the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to this frame duration. As such, the nominal time interval of step 102, referred to herein as a “nominal frame period,” corresponds to a time window within which the base station expects the transmission from the access terminal to be carrying one frame of encoded data. The time instant at end of the nominal frame period is referred as the “nominal termination target.”

At step 104, upon completion of the nominal time interval (i.e., at the end of the nominal frame period), the base station makes a determination that the transmission received at step 102 has not been successfully decoded into a frame of data. Ideally, the base station would have successfully decoded the transmission into a frame of date, so the determination at step 104 of failure to decode the transmission corresponds to a frame error. While strictly speaking, a “nominal frame period” simply defines a time interval equal to one frame (ending at the nominal termination target), for purposes of the present discussion, a nominal frame period that ends in a frame error will be referred to herein as a “failed” or “unsuccessful” nominal frame period. Conversely, a nominal frame period that ends in a successfully decoded frame will be referred to herein as a “successful” nominal frame period. This terminology reflects both the outcome of the decoding effort as well as the duration of the nominal time interval. Thus the determination at step 104 corresponds to the determination of an unsuccessful nominal frame period.

At step 106, in response to making the determination of an unsuccessful nominal frame period, the base station then commences an extended frame decoding interval during which the base station continues to attempt to decode the transmission received during the unsuccessful nominal frame period. In accordance with the example embodiment, the extended frame decoding interval begins when the unsuccessful nominal frame period ends. In practice, the total duration of the extended frame decoding interval will be less that the duration of a nominal frame period. For instance, the conventional duration of the extended frame decoding interval is typically 5-10 ms, compared with a typical nominal frame period of 20 ms. The time instant at end of the extended frame decoding interval—i.e., the “end time” of the extended decoding interval—is referred as the “virtual termination target.” Thus, the extended frame decoding interval begins at the nominal termination target of the preceding unsuccessful nominal frame period and lasts until the virtual termination target (the end time of the extended decoding interval).

At step 108, the base station measures signal-to-noise of transmission power received on the air interface from the access terminal. In operation according to a CDMA family of protocols, signal-to-noise is typically measured as a ratio of “energy per chip” (“E_(c)”) to total received energy (“I₀”), the ratio being expressed as “E_(c)/I₀.” As is known in the art, a “chip” is a small unit of time (usually, sub-microsecond) over which one or another form of encoding and/or decoding of data are carried out (successive chips may also be considered as having binary values that are applied in encoding and decoding). The energy per chip, E_(c), measured at a receiver corresponds to an amount of energy received from a source within a time window equal to one chip. The total energy, I₀, corresponds to the total energy in noise and interference received from all sources during the same time window.

In practice, the transmission power level on the air interface between the base station and any particular access terminal is typically specified as a gain level, x, according to the relation x dBm=10 log₁₀(P/1 mW), where P is the power in mW (milliwatts). The ratio, y, of two different power levels x₁ and x₂ each expressed as gain is then given by y dB=10 log₁₀(P₁/P₂). Accordingly, the signal-to-noise measure E_(c)/I₀ is typically expressed in dB. For reference (and by way example), y=3 dB corresponds to a factor of two in terms of absolute power.

In accordance with the example embodiment, the signal-to-noise measured by the base station at step 108 could correspond to E_(c)/I₀ as measured on a chip-by-chip basis, or an average value computed over time. It will be appreciated that other measures of signal-to-noise could be used.

At step 110, the base station determines an end time for the extended decoding interval based on the signal-to-noise measurement. As described above, the extended decoding interval starts at the nominal termination target of an unsuccessful nominal frame interval, and lasts until the virtual termination target. Hence the determination step of 110 dynamically sets the duration of the extended decoding interval by dynamically setting the virtual termination target. Note that the virtual termination target is set as a time relative to the nominal termination target. In accordance with the example embodiment, the dynamic setting of the virtual termination target is based on the measured signal-to-noise; that is, the base station determines the duration of the extended decoding interval for the access terminal based on the measured signal-to-noise from the access terminal.

In further accordance with the example embodiment, the determination of the duration of the extended decoding interval based on the measured signal-to-noise will be made so as to increase the likelihood that the extended decoding interval will be successful. More specifically, the base station will determine longer durations for higher measured values of signal-to-noise, and vice versa. The determination could be made in a number of ways. For example, a functional relationship between duration values and signal-to-noise values could be used, whereby the functional relationship specifies generally increasing values of duration for increasing values of signal-to-noise. The functional relationship could be implemented as an algorithm in one or another form of logical instruction executable by the base station (e.g., a processor at the base station).

As another example, the base station could store a look-up table that correlates each of one or more ranges of signal-to-noise values with a correspond value of virtual termination target. For any given measurement of signal-to-noise (i.e., in accordance with step 108), the base station could consult the table in order to determine the virtual termination target (and hence the duration of the extended decoding interval). The table values could be established as parameters of the wireless communication system and supplied to the base station in a provisioning or configuration operation. The base station could store the table in one or another form of memory (e.g., solid state memory, disk memory, etc.).

In still further accordance with the example embodiment, the base station could determine the end time of the extended decoding interval by reporting the signal-to-noise measurement to a controlling entity in the wireless network, and thereafter receiving a response that includes the determined end time from the controlling entity. For example, the base station could correspond to a BTS or a BTS sector, and the controller could be a BSC or other controlling element of the RAN. The BTS could then transmit a message containing the measured signal-to-noise to the BSC, and the BSC could determine a value for virtual termination target and then send a response message to the BTS with the determined value.

Finally, at step 112, the base station will continue attempted decoding of the frame transmission from the access terminal until the end time of the extended decoding interval. Upon completion of the extended decoding interval, the base station will determine whether or not the previous frame transmission of the previous unsuccessful nominal frame period has now been successfully decoded. That is, the base station will determine whether or not the extended frame decoding interval has been successful. Since the virtual termination target will have be determined based on the signal-to-noise measurement—and in particular, the virtual termination target will have been set larger for larger values of signal-to-noise—the likelihood of successful decoding will advantageously been increased compared with the likelihood under conventional operation when a static (fixed) value of termination target is used.

It will be appreciated that the steps of FIG. 1 are presented by way of example, and that additional and/or alternative steps or alternative ordering of steps could be carried out and still remain within the scope and spirit of the present invention or embodiments thereof.

FIG. 2 shows a simplified block diagram of a wireless communication system 200 in which an example embodiment of dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise can be employed. Access terminal AT 202 communicates over an air interface 203 with a BTS 204, which is then coupled or integrated with a BSC 206. Transmissions over air interface 203 from BTS 204 to AT 202 represent the forward link to the access terminal (also referred to herein alternatively as the forward link from the base station, and as “the AT's forward link”). Transmissions over interface 203 from AT 202 to BTS 204 represent the “reverse link” (also referred to herein as “the AT's reverse link”). It will be appreciated that the arrangement shown in the figure is illustrative.

BSC 206 is connected to MSC 208, which acts to control assignment of air traffic channels (e.g., over air interface 203), and provides access to wireless circuit-switched services such as circuit-voice and circuit-data (e.g., modem-based packet data) service. As represented by its connection to PSTN 212, MSC 208 is also coupled with one or more other MSCs or other telephony circuit switches in the operator's (or in a different operator's) network, thereby supporting user mobility across MSC regions, and local and long-distance landline telephone services. Also connected to MSC 208 is home location register (HLR) 210, which supports mobility-related aspects of subscriber services, including dynamic tracking of subscriber registration location and verification of service privileges.

As shown, BSC 206 is also connected with a PDSN 216 by way of packet control function (PCF) 214. PDSN 216 in turn provides connectivity with a packet-switched network 218, such as the Internet and/or a wireless carrier's private core packet-network. Sitting as nodes on network 218 are, by way of example, an authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) server 220, a mobile-IP home agent (HA) 222, and a remote computer 224. After acquiring an air traffic channel over its air interface, an access terminal (e.g., AT 202) may send a request to PDSN 216 for a connection in the packet data network. Then, following authentication of the access terminal by AAA server 220, the access terminal may be assigned an IP address by the PDSN or by HA 222, and may thereafter engage in packet-data communications with entities such as remote computer 224.

It should be understood that the depiction of just one of each network element in FIG. 2 is illustrative, and there could be more than one of any of them, as well as other types of elements not shown. The particular arrangement shown in FIG. 2 should not be viewed as limiting with respect to the present invention or embodiments thereof. Further, the network components that make up a wireless communication system such as system 200 are typically implemented as a combination of one or more integrated and/or distributed platforms, each comprising one or more computer processors, one or more forms of computer-readable storage (e.g., disks drives, random access memory, etc.), one or more communication interfaces for interconnection between elements and the network and operable to transmit and receive the communications and messages described herein, and one or more computer software programs and related data (e.g., machine-language instructions and program and user data) stored in the one or more forms of computer-readable storage and executable by the one or more computer processors to carry out the functions, steps, and procedures of the various embodiments of the present invention described herein. Similarly, a communication device such as exemplary access terminal 202 typically comprises a user-interface, I/O components, a transceiver, a communication interface, a tone detector, a processing unit, and data storage, all of which may be coupled together by a system bus or other mechanism. As such, system 200, AT 202, and air interface 203 are representative of exemplary means of implementing and carrying out the various functions, steps, and procedures described herein.

Throughout this description, the term “base station” will be used to refer to a Radio Access Network (RAN) element such as a BTS, a BSC, or combination BTS/BSC, for instance. The term “radio network controller” (RNC) can also be used to refer to a BSC, or more generally to a base station. In some arrangements, two or more RNCs may be grouped together, wherein one of them carries out certain control functions of the group, such as coordinating handoffs across BTSs of the respective RNCs in the group. The term controlling RNC (or C-RNC) customarily applies to the RNC that carries out these (and possibly other) control functions.

1. CONVENTIONAL CDMA COMMUNICATIONS

In a conventional CDMA wireless network compliant with the well known IS-2000 standard, each cell employs one or more carrier frequencies, typically 1.25 MHz in bandwidth each, and each wireless service sector is distinguished from adjacent sectors by a pseudo-random number offset (“PN offset”). Further, each sector can concurrently communicate on multiple different channels, distinguished from each other by “Walsh codes.” When an access terminal operates in a given sector, communications between the access terminal and the BTS of the sector are carried on a given frequency and are encoded by the sector's PN offset and a given Walsh code.

Air interface communications are divided into forward link communications, which are those passing from the base station to the access terminal, and reverse link communications, which are those passing from the access terminal to the base station. In an IS-2000 system, data are transmitted in units of frames on both the forward link and reverse link. On either link, communications in a given wireless service sector are encoded with the sector's PN offset and a given Walsh code. On the forward link, certain Walsh codes are reserved for use to define control channels, including a pilot channel, a sync channel, and one or more paging channels, and the remainder can be assigned dynamically for use as traffic channels, i.e., to carry user communications. Similarly, on the reverse link, one or more Walsh codes may be reserved for use to define access channels, and the remainder can be assigned dynamically for use as traffic channels.

In order to facilitate efficient and reliable handoff of access terminals between sectors, under IS-2000 an AT can communicate on a given carrier frequency with a number of “active” sectors concurrently, which collectively make up the AT's “active set.” Depending on the system, the number of active sectors can be up to six (currently). When an AT is engaged in an active call or session, it may thus communicate with all of the sectors in its active set. In this mode of operation, the AT is said to be in “soft handoff.” On the forward link, the access terminal in soft handoff receives largely the same signal from each of its active sectors and, on a frame-by-frame basis, selects the best signal to use. On the reverse link, the AT in soft handoff transmits the same data, frame-by-frame, to each sector in its active set.

An AT's active set is maintained in the access terminal's memory, each active sector being identified according to its PN offset. The AT continually monitors the pilot signals from its active sectors as well as from other sectors, which may vary in as the AT moves about within the wireless communication system, or as other factors cause the AT's RF conditions to change. The AT reports the received signal strengths to the serving base station, which then directs the AT to update its active set in accordance with the reported strengths and one or more threshold conditions.

As described above, frames are transmitted from the base station to the AT or from the AT to the base station at regular intervals (corresponding to a frame rate), typically 20 milliseconds in duration (although other frame intervals can be used). As a result of imperfect transmission, noise, inteference, or other operational factors, some frames received by the AT on the forward link or by the base station on the reverse link may contain errors. Other frames—ideally, the majority of them—will be received without errors. It may also be possible through one or another coding technique to correct certain errors in frames.

On either link, the receiving entity (e.g., AT or base station) can compute a ratio of (i) the number of error-containing frames received during a given period of time to (ii) the total number of frames received during the same period of time. This ratio, computed by the AT on the forward link and by the base station on the reverse link, is called the frame error rate (FER). The FER is an indicator of the RF conditions of the forward and/or reverse link, and consequently the quality service provided over the respective link. For instance, frame errors may manifest as lost audio samples, which in turn cause choppy or distorted audio output when played out by a receiving device. Similarly, frame errors may represent packet-data loss that results in retransmissions and lower overall throughput. In general, the higher the FER, the lower the quality of service will be, and vice versa. For a given set of physical conditions underlying communications between a base station and an access terminal, the higher the transmission power on the link (forward or reverse), the lower the FER will be. Consequently, the quality of service provided on a link can be adjusted and/or controlled by adjusting the transmission power used on the link.

In order to support concurrent communication in multiple channels on a common frequency, each channel is allocated a fraction of the total forward-link power available in the sector. The power allocated to each channel is determined so as to optimize the signal-to-noise characteristics of all the channels, and may vary with time according to the number of access terminals being serviced, and their relative positions with respect to the BTS, among other factors. Similarly, on the reverse links, each access terminal transmits at a power level that optimizes the signal-to-noise while minimizing interference with other access terminals.

In practice, similar methods of power control are implemented on both the forward and reverse links. For each link, two interrelated schemes are employed. The first, called “inner-loop” power control, achieves rapid convergence of link power to a level corresponding to a threshold signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The second, called “outer-loop” power control, operates on a longer time scale (i.e., more slowly) than the inner loop, and adjusts the inner-loop threshold SNR in response to the computed FER. Thus the outer loop adjusts the SNR threshold to attain a desired quality of service (as measured by FER), while the inner loop adjusts the link power to quickly achieve (at least approximately) the SNR threshold set by the outer loop.

In discussions below, details of power control are described with reference only the reverse link; i.e., control of the AT's reverse link power by the receiving base station (or sector). Note, however, that since the protocols are similar for both the forward and reverse links, the descriptions of power control that follow apply generally to forward-link control as well (although some specific details may differ). Note also that while the discussion refers only to a single base station (or sector), the base-station operations described with regard to power control of a given access terminal are carried out in practice by all of the given access terminal's active set sectors when the given access terminal is in soft handoff.

For inner-loop power control, the base station measures (for each reverse link) SNR at a rate of 800 times per second (although other rates are possible), each SNR measurement being made in terms of E_(b)/N₀, where E_(b) is the energy per bit of the signal received by the AT and the N_(o) is the noise power spectral density. For each measurement, the base station compares E_(b)/N_(o) with a threshold value called (E_(b)/N₀)_(setpoint) and responsively sets and sends a power control bit to the AT in order to affect a power adjustment. Note that (E_(b)/N₀)_(setpoint) is the same parameter referred to simply as “setpoint” in the discussion above; the terms “(E_(b)/N₀)_(setpoint)” and “setpoint” will thus be used interchangeably hereinafter.

In practice, power adjustment is applied in terms of gain relative to a current power level, and measured in dB. For E_(b)/N₀≦(E_(b)/N₀)_(setpoint), the base station sets the power control bit to “power up,” and, in conventional operation, the AT responsively increases the reverse link gain by a small amount (typically 1 dB or less). For E_(b)/N₀>(E_(b)/N₀)_(setpoint), the base station sets the power control bit to “power down,” and, in conventional operation, the AT responsively decreases the reverse link gain by the same small amount. In this manner, the reverse link power rapidly converges, in small increments or decrements, to a level where E_(b)/N₀≈(E_(b)/N₀)_(setpoint), and thereafter fluctuates about (E_(b)/N₀)_(setpoint) until (E_(b)/N₀)_(setpoint) is adjusted to a new value by outer-loop power control, or operating conditions change such that E_(b)/N₀ diverges from (E_(b)/N₀)_(setpoint).

Each transmission by the base station of the power control bit set to power up is commonly referred to as a “power-up command.” Similarly, each transmission of the power control bit set to power down is referred to as a “power-down command.” Power-up commands are specific examples of the more generically-termed power-increment commands described above, and power-down commands are specific examples of the more generically-termed power-decrement commands described above.

For outer-loop power control on the reverse link, the base station computes the FER within consecutive calculation windows, each being an integer number of frames in duration. Thus, in each calculation window, FER may be expressed as the number of frames with errors divided by the number of frames per window. The duration of a calculation window typically ranges from one to 20 frames, although other calculation window sizes (number of frames per window) could be used. For each calculation window, the base station compares the computed FER with a reverse-link Target FER (TFER). If the computed FER is less than TFER, the base station decreases (E_(b)/N₀)_(setpoint). Conversely, if the computed FER is greater than TFER, the base station increases (E_(b)/N₀)_(setpoint). In this manner, a computed FER that exceeds the target FER drives the inner-loop power control to increase the reverse-link power, while a computed FER that is below the target FER drives the inner-loop power control to decrease the reverse-link power.

Note that a shorter calculation window will be more sensitive to short-term variations that effect RF conditions but will also allow the base station to react more quickly to these variations, while a longer calculation window will tend to average over short-term variations while possibly delaying responsiveness to non-transient changes in RF conditions. For a one-frame calculation window, setpoint adjustment can be sensitive to the shortest possible timescale. In this case, calculation does not directly yield an observed frame error rate, but an historical average may still be tracked. However, the setpoint adjustment applied in response to a single-frame error event can be selected such that the resulting, effective FER is maintained in close agreement with the target FER.

In the context of a CDMA family of protocols, the power control methods described in the preceding are sometimes referred to as “inner-loop power-control protocols” and “outer-loop power-control protocols.” It should also be noted that additional or alternative methods of power control may be applied to either of the forward or reverse links.

With arrangement described above, an access terminal can engage in cellular voice or packet-data communications. Referring again to FIG. 2, and taking an originating call from AT 202 as an example, AT 202 first sends an origination request over air interface 203 and via the BTS 204 and BSC 206 to MSC 208. The MSC then signals back to the BSC directing the BSC to assign an air interface traffic channel for use by the access terminal. For a voice call, the MSC uses well-known circuit protocols to signal call setup and establish a circuit connection to a destination switch that can then connect the call to a called device (e.g., landline phone or another access terminal). For a packet-data session, the BSC signals to the PDSN 216 by way of PCF 214. The PDSN 216 and access terminal 202 then negotiate to establish a data link layer connection, such as a point to point protocol (PPP) session. Further, the PDSN 216 sends a foreign agent advertisement that includes a challenge value to the access terminal, and the access terminal responds with a mobile-IP registration request (MIP RRQ), including a response to the challenge, which the PDSN forwards to HA 222. The HA then assigns an IP address for the access terminal to use, and the PDSN passes that IP address via the BSC to the access terminal.

2. HIGH RATE PACKET-DATA COMMUNICATIONS

Under IS-2000, the highest rate of packet-data communications theoretically available on a fundamental traffic channel of the forward link is 9.6 kbps, dependent in part on the power allocated to the forward-link traffic channel and the resultant signal-to-noise characteristics. In order to provide higher rate packet-data service to support higher bandwidth applications, the industry introduced a new “high rate packet data (HRPD) system,” which is defined by industry standard IS-856.

IS-856 leverages the asymmetric characteristics of most IP traffic, in which the forward link typically carries a higher load than the reverse link. Under IS-856, each access terminal maintains and manages an active set as described above, but receives forward-link transmission from only one active sector at a time. In turn, each sector transmits to all its active ATs on a common forward link using time division multiplexing (TDM) in order to transmit to only one access terminal at a time, but at the full power of the sector. As a result of the full-power allocation by the sector, an access terminal operating under IS-856 can, in theory, receive packet-data at a rate of at least 38.4 kbps and up to 2.4 Mbps on its forward link.

The reverse link under IS-856 retains largely the traditional IS-2000 code division multiplexing (CDM) format, albeit with the addition of a “data rate control” (DRC) channel used to indicate the supportable data rate and best serving sector for the forward link. Multiple, active ATs in a common serving sector can transmit concurrently on their respective reverse links to the sector's BTS. Each reverse link comprises distinct code channels, thereby enabling the BTS to distinguish among each AT's transmissions. As with IS-2000, the IS-856 reverse link transmissions are frame-based.

TDM access on the IS-856 forward link is achieved by dividing the forward link in the time domain into time slots of length 2048 chips each. At a chip rate of 1.228 Mega-chips per second, each slot has a duration of 1.67 milliseconds (ms). Each time slot is further divided into two 1024-chip half-slots, each half-slot arranged to carry a 96-chip pilot “burst” (pilot channel) at its center and a Medium Access Control (MAC) channel in two 64-chip segments, one on each side of the pilot burst. The remaining 1600 chips of each time slot (800 per half-slot) are allocated for a forward traffic channel or a forward control channel, so that any given time slot will carry either traffic-channel data (if any exists) or control-channel data. Traffic-channel data comprise user application data, while control-channel data comprise IS-856 control messages. As in IS-2000, each sector in IS-856 is defined by a PN offset, and the pilot channel carries an indication of the sector's PN offset. Also as in IS-2000, an access terminal operating under IS-856 monitors the pilot signal emitted by various sectors in order to facilitate active set management, i.e., as a basis to facilitate handoff from one sector to another.

Unlike the IS-856 forward link which is allocated the full power of the serving sector (or other coverage area) to each AT on a TDM basis, the power applied to the reverse link from each of possibly multiple ATs in a common serving sector is individually controlled by the base station using the same methods described above for IS-2000. In particular, for each active AT in a sector, the serving base station uses a calculated frame error rate to set an outer-loop SNR threshold (i.e., the setpoint), and, in accordance with inner-loop power control protocols, issues appropriate power-control commands—power-up or power-down commands—to cause the E_(b)/N₀ of the signal received from the AT to converge to the threshold. Under IS-856, the E_(b)/N_(o) of the signal received from the AT is typically measured 600 times per second (equal to the slot rate), and responsive power-control commands are sent from the base station at the same rate.

Operation in an IS-856 compliant communication system may be illustrated, again with reference to FIG. 2. To acquire packet data connectivity under IS-856, after an access terminal first detects an IS-856 carrier, the access terminal sends to its BSC (or RNC) 206 a UATI (Universal Access Terminal Identifier) request, and receives in response an UATI, which the access terminal can then use to identify itself in subsequent communications with the BSC. The access terminal then sends a connection-request to the BSC 206, and the BSC responsively invokes a process to authenticate the access terminal and to have the access terminal acquire a data link.

In particular, the BSC 206 sends an access request to an Access Network AAA (ANAAA) server (which may be different than the AAA server 220), and the ANAAA server authenticates the access terminal. The BSC 206 then assigns radio resources for the data session, providing a MAC identifier (“MAC ID”) to the AT for identifying its time-slot data sent in the forward-link traffic channel, and a Walsh code for a sending data on the reverse-link traffic channel. Further, the BSC signals to the PDSN 216 (via PCF 214), and the PDSN and access terminal then negotiate to establish a PPP data link. In addition, as in the IS-2000 process, the access terminal then sends an MIP RRQ to the PDSN, which the PDSN forwards to the HA 222, and the HA assigns a mobile-IP address for the access terminal to use.

Once the access terminal has acquired an IS-856 radio link, a data link, and an IP address, the access terminal is considered to be in an active mode. In active mode, the AT receives its data distributed across MAC-identified time slots transmitted by the BTS using the full power of the forward link of the sector selected by the AT (as described above). Thus, the access terminal recognizes its time-slot data from among other time slots by a MAC identifier included in each transmission, and processes only those time slots with the AT's assigned MAC identifier. Using the full power of the forward link maximizes the signal-to-noise ratio, thus facilitating higher rate data communication than the power-limited conventional CDMA channels.

3. DYNAMIC ADJUSTMENT OF EXTENDED DECODING DURATION BASED ON SIGNAL-TO-NOISE

a. Operating Principles

The failure of a base station to successfully decode a frame during a nominal frame period is generally attributable to some combination of imperfect transmission, noise, and interference on the reverse link. With regard to interference in particular, some or all of possibly multiple access terminals with active voice or data sessions that are being served by a common base station (or a common sector, for example) can transmit concurrently on their respective reverse links, though not generally (or necessarily) with synchronicity with respect to frame boundaries. As a consequence, the serving base station must simultaneously decode transmissions from different access terminals, wherein the nominal termination targets of the different, concurrently-transmitted frames from the different access terminals occur at different times. For a given transmission from a given access terminal during a given nominal frame period, all other received transmissions constitute interference, and can contribute to (or even be a predominant factor in) failure of the serving base station to decode the given transmission into a frame as sent by the given access terminal.

If a frame has not been successfully decoded by the end of the given nominal frame period, and attempted decoding of the given transmission ceases at the nominal termination target of the given nominal frame period, then a frame error will result. At this point, the base station may increase the setpoint applied to transmissions from the given access terminal, as described above. While this increase may aid in the decoding of a transmission from the given access terminal during the next nominal frame period, it will also increase the given access terminal's contribution to interference on other the reverse links to the base station.

It may be the case that one or more concurrent transmissions from other access terminals have been successfully decoded into respective frames at some point prior to the nominal termination target of the given nominal frame period, or at some point shortly thereafter. By continuing to decode the given transmission after the nominal termination target of the given nominal frame period, while at the same time computationally subtracting (or otherwise accounting for) the now-known contributions to interference from the successfully decoded frames from the other access terminals, it is possible to still achieve successful decoding of the given transmission. Such an approach to continuing decoding after the nominal termination target is one of the features provided with the introduction of CDMA 2000 Spread Spectrum Systems Revision E, for example.

More specifically, in accordance with conventional operation under CDMA 2000 Spread Spectrum Systems Revision E (among other possible, similarly-compliant, CDMA-related protocols), upon a determination of an unsuccessful nominal frame period, the base station will continue to attempt to decode the transmission of the previous nominal frame period (that resulted in a failed decoding attempt) while concurrently attempting to decode the transmission being received during the next (new) nominal frame period. As described above, the period of continued attempted decoding of the previous transmission is referred to as an extended frame decoding interval, and lasts from the nominal termination target of the unsuccessful nominal frame period until the virtual termination target.

If decoding remains unsuccessful at the virtual termination target, the base station may then increase the setpoint applied to transmissions from the given access terminal. If the previous transmission is successfully decoded by the virtual termination target, then the base station may forgo increasing the setpoint. In this case, a possible increase in the given access terminal's contribution to interference on the reverse link may be avoided.

In conventional operation, the duration of the extended decoding interval—i.e., the virtual termination target—is a static or fixed parameter of the wireless communication system. As such, when a given frame transmission of access terminal in soft handoff fails to be decoded by any of the access terminal's active set sectors during the nominal frame interval for the given frame transmission, all of the active set sectors will invoke extended decoding intervals using the same virtual termination target.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of conventional extended frame decoding according to CDMA 2000 Spread Spectrum Systems Revision E for an example case of two base stations receiving frame transmissions from a common access terminal 302. The two base stations are represented as BTS 304 at the top of Figure and BTS 306 at the bottom of FIG. 3. For the example operation illustrated in the figure, it is assumed that the access terminal 302 is in soft handoff with both base stations, and that both base stations are in the access terminal's active set. It will be appreciated that the two BTSs shown could be physically distinct BTSs, two different sectors of a common BTS, two distinct base stations under control of a common BSC or RNC, or another, similar configuration suitable for the two elements to both be members of a given access terminal's active set. Further, it should be under stood that there could be additional active set members with which the access terminal 302 is communicating, and which are in turn receiving common frame transmissions from the access terminal.

Communication links between the access terminal and the BTSs are provided by air interfaces, represented in FIG. 3 by lightning-bolt lines. As depicted, the access terminal 302 communicates with BTS 304 via air interface 303-a and with BTS 306 via air interface 303-b. Each air interface supports both forward-link and reverse-link communications. In particular, each reverse link supports frame transmissions from the access terminal, and each BTS can measure a signal-to-noise from the access terminal 302 on its respective reverse link to the access terminal.

To further facilitate the discussion, a timeline 305 marking increasing time towards the right is shown in the center of the figure. The tick marks can be considered as measuring arbitrary time units. For example, they could be taken to correspond to 1×-RTT time slots. However, the tick marks could be taken to correspond to other time units as well.

As illustrated, BTS 304 begins receiving a reverse-link frame transmission from the access terminal 302 as an incoming frame transmission 308-1 at start time 307-a, and BTS 306 begins receiving the same reverse-link frame transmission as an incoming frame transmission 312-1 at start time 307-b. The start time 307-a at BTS 304 is evidently the same as the start time 307-b at BTS 306. In practice, the respective start times for receiving the same reverse-link frame transmission at two different BTSs (or sectors) will not generally be identical. This is because the access terminal will generally be located at different distances from each BTS, so there will be a different propagation delay between the access terminal and each BTS. However, for the purposes of illustration in the present example, and with no loss in generality with respect to the present invention or embodiments thereof, propagation-based differences in start times at different BTSs for receiving a common reverse-link frame transmission will be ignored.

The nominal frame interval at BTS 304 for the incoming frame transmission 308-1 ends at the nominal termination target 309 (as marked on the timeline 305), and nominal frame interval at BTS 306 for the incoming frame transmission 312-1 ends at the nominal termination target 313 (also marked on the timeline 305). The next reverse-link frame transmission from the access terminal 302 then begins being received at BTS 304 in the form of the next incoming frame transmission 308-2, and at BTS 306 in the form of the next incoming frame transmission 312-2 (the next incoming frames are truncated with hatch marks and ellipses for the sake of brevity in the figure). At the same time (i.e., at the respective nominal termination targets), each BTS determines that its respective nominal frame interval failed to yield a successfully decoded frame; i.e., each determines that a frame error has occurred. Consequently, each BTS commences a respective extended decoding interval: BTS 304 commences extended decoding interval 310, and BTS 306 commences extended decoding interval 314. As with start times 307-a and 307-b, the respective nominal termination targets 309 and 313 are assumed to coincide, wherein this assumption is again based on ignoring time differences due to different propagation delays.

In conventional operation under CDMA 2000 Spread Spectrum Systems Revision E (for example), each extended decoding interval 310 and 314 lasts for the same, fixed duration. Thus, both last until a respective but identically-valued virtual termination target 311 and 315. Once more, time differences due to differences in propagation delays have been ignore for the purposes of the illustrating operation. In any case, the durations of the respective extended decoding intervals 310 and 314 are the same in conventional operation, even accounting for slightly different relative start times (respective nominal termination targets) and relative end times (respective virtual termination targets).

During the extended decoding interval, the base station (or sector) is continuing to attempt to decode a previous frame transmission that is no longer being received from the access terminal, while at the same time now receiving the next frame transmission from the access terminal. The likelihood that the base station will be able to decode the previous frame transmission during the extended decoding interval depends, among other factors, on the signal-to-noise characteristics of received signals from the access terminal. More specifically, a higher the signal-to-noise of received signals will tend to increase the likelihood of successful decoding during the extended decoding interval, and vice versa.

The likelihood of success could be further enhanced by increasing the duration of the extended decoding interval; i.e., by increasing the virtual termination target, thereby increasing the amount of time the base station has to continue the decoding effort. However, in conventional operation, the virtual termination target is a fixed or static system parameter. Even beyond the restriction of a fixed value of virtual termination target, there can be computing and other overhead costs associated with extended decoding. Consequently, any scheme in which adjustment of virtual termination target might be enabled would need to balance the potential benefit of adjusting the duration of extended decoding against overhead costs of doing so (e.g., computing resources). Because signal-to-noise for a given access terminal is already an indicator of the likelihood of success in extended decoding, it may also be used as a factor in determining when and by how much the virtual termination target for the given access terminal should be adjusted.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention introduce a method and system of dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise. In accordance with an example embodiment, a base station or other RAN element will determine the virtual termination target for a given access terminal based on the signal-to-noise of received transmissions from the given access terminal. More particularly, the base station will use larger values of virtual termination target for higher received signal-to-noise and smaller values for lower received signal-to-noise. When applied across multiple base stations (or sectors) of the active set of an access terminal in soft handoff, the method will advantageously tend to (i) place an increased demand for computing resources on those base stations (or sectors) for which the increased demand is most likely to lead to successful extended decoding, and (ii) place a decreased demand on those for which an increased demand would be less likely to lead to successful extended decoding (and would thereby be potentially wasted).

In further accordance with the example embodiment, the dynamic determination of virtual termination target based on signal-to-noise could be carried out independently by each individual active-set sector of an access terminal in soft handoff, or could coordinated by a controlling entity, such as a BSC or RNC. For either implementation, the determination could be made using an approach that correlates measured signal-to-noise with duration of extended decoding. The correlation could be made using a functional relation between signal-to-noise and duration value, a look-up table, or other form of computer-executable function for determining a duration value from signal-to-noise value.

Operation of an example embodiment of dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise is described in the next subsection.

b. Example Operation

FIG. 4 illustrates operation of an example embodiment of dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise. The format displayed in FIG. 4 is largely the same as that used in FIG. 3. An access terminal 402 is taken to be in soft handoff with two representative base stations BTS 404 and 406. Without limitation to the present invention or embodiments thereof, the two BTSs 404 and 406 could be physically distinct BTSs, two different sectors of a common BTS, two distinct base stations under control of a common BSC or RNC, or another, similar configuration suitable for the two elements to both be members of a given access terminal's active set. Further, there could be additional active set members with which the access terminal 402 is communicating, and which are in turn receiving common frame transmissions from the access terminal.

The access terminal 402 communicates with BTS 404 via air interface 403-a and with BTS 406 via air interface 403-b, again each supporting both forward-link and reverse-link communications. In FIG. 4, the lightning-bolt lines representing the air interfaces 403-a and 403-b are depicted with different thicknesses in order to indicate the different signal-to-noise power measured at the respective BTSs. Specifically, the greater thickness of the lightning-bolt line representing air interface 403-a than that representing air interface 403-b is meant to indicate a higher signal-to-noise measured at BTS 404 than that measured at BTS 406. In accordance with the example embodiment, signal-to-noise is measured by the BTS in terms of E_(c)/I₀. The different relative sizes of the measured signal-to-noise power in the example of FIG. 4 are thus indicated in the figure by the inequalities “(E_(c)/I₀)_(a)>(E_(c)/I₀)_(b)” at BTS 404 and “(E_(c)/I₀)_(b)<(E_(c)/I₀)_(a)” at BTS 406, wherein the subscripts “a” and “b” correspond to the like-labeled air interfaces (i.e., 403-a and 403-b).

As indicated by the timeline 405, the BTS 404 begins receiving a reverse-link frame transmission from the access terminal 402 as an incoming frame transmission 408-1 at start time 407-a, and BTS 406 begins receiving the same reverse-link frame transmission as an incoming frame transmission 412-1 at start time 407-b. As with FIG. 3, differences in propagation delay from the access terminal 402 to each of the two BTSs 404 and 406 are ignored, so that the start times 407-a and 407-b are the same. Likewise, the nominal termination targets 409 and 413 marking the ends of the nominal frame intervals at BTSs 404 and 406, respectively, also coincide with the same time on the timeline 405. Consequently, the next reverse-link frame transmission from the access terminal 402 also begins being received at the same time at each of BTS 404 (in the form of the next incoming frame transmission 408-2) and BTS 406 (in the form of the next incoming frame transmission 412-2). (Again, the next incoming frames are truncated with hatch marks and ellipses for the sake of brevity in the figure.)

By way of example, each BTS determines at its respective nominal termination target (409 and 413) that its respective nominal frame interval failed to yield a successfully decoded frame; i.e., each determines that a frame error has occurred. Thus, as in conventional operation, each BTS commences a respective extended decoding interval: BTS 404 commences extended decoding interval 410, and BTS 406 commences extended decoding interval 414.

Unlike in conventional operation, however, BTSs 404 and 406 each set their respective virtual termination targets 411 and 415 based on their respective measurements of E_(c)/I₀. In particular, since BTS 404 measures a larger value than BTS 406 (i.e., (E_(c)/I₀)_(a)>(E_(c)/I₀)_(b)) and BTS 406 measures a smaller value than BTS 404 (i.e., (E_(c)/I₀)_(b)<(E_(c)/I₀)_(a)), BTS 406 determines a larger value for virtual termination target. As is evident from FIG. 4, the virtual termination target 411 used by BTS 404 is larger than the virtual termination target 415 used by BTS 406. Consequently, the duration of the extended decoding interval 410 at BTS 404 is longer than the duration of the extended decoding interval 414 at BTS 406. Advantageously, the likelihood of successful decoding by the BTS 404, already having the best chance for successful decoding by virtue of its higher received signal-to-noise, is further enhanced by the increased duration of its extended decoding interval.

While increasing the virtual termination target may increase processing overhead (or other resource costs) incurred by the BTS 404, the increase is warranted because, between the two BTSs, BTS 404 can derive the best advantage of the increased virtual termination target. Conversely, since BTS 406 would derive less of an advantage of an increased virtual termination target, the extra costs (in terms of computing resources or other forms of overhead) of such an increase are less likely to yield the positive results that would warrant an increase. Accordingly, basing the determination of virtual termination target on signal-to-noise provides a sensible rationale for dynamically adjusting the duration of extended decoding, both in terms of likelihood of success of decoding and allocation of processing resources and related overhead.

As described above, a BTS (or sector, for example) measuring a higher signal-to-noise (e.g., E_(c)/I₀) than another BTS (or sector) for a given access terminal will use a larger virtual termination target for an extended decoding interval for the given access terminal (when an extended decoding interval is necessary). In practice, different BTSs serving the same access terminal in an active call or session will generally be able to measure only their own signal-to-noise level for the access terminal, but won't be able to compare measurements so as to determine relative signal-to-noise levels. For example, each BTS could independently determine its virtual termination target based on a common procedure that assures larger virtual termination targets for higher measured values of signal-to-noise, and vice versa. Such an implementation would therefore provide the same results as described above, but without the individual BTSs actually being aware of each other's measured values of signal-to-noise.

In accordance with the example embodiment, the signal-to-noise measurement upon which the determination of virtual termination target is based will be a running time average value of E_(c)/I₀. More specifically, E_(c)/I₀ is typically measured once per time slot, or once per 1.25 ms for 1×-RTT (or 1.67 ms for EVDO time slots). Since a nominal frame period is usually 20 ms, and an extended decoding interval is usually a non-negligible fraction of a nominal frame period, adjusting the virtual termination target on a time scale of once per time slot is likely to be too rapid. Instead, a moving time average of E_(c)/I₀ averaged over a sliding window of multiple time slots can be used for determining virtual termination target. For instance, the sliding window could span four to eight time slots (although other window sizes could be used). It should be understood that the description herein of determining virtual termination target based on E_(c)/I_(o) refers to either individual measurements of E_(c)/I₀ or time-averaged measurements of E_(c)/I₀, the choice being dependent on implementation details but not limiting with respect to the present invention or embodiments thereof.

In further accordance with the example embodiment, the determination of virtual termination target could be made by a network entity that controls both BTS 404 and 406. In such an implementation, each BTS would provide respective measurement of signal-to-noise to a controlling BSC or RNC, for instance, and the controlling entity could then make a separate determination of virtual termination target for each BTS. By way of example, each BTS could send the BSC or RNC respective periodic messages that include running time averages of E_(c)/I₀ from a given access terminal. The BSC or RNC could in turn determine a virtual termination target for each BTS based on the running-average values of E_(c)/I₀ in the respective messages, and send the determined virtual termination targets to the BTSs in separate response messages. Each BTS would use the virtual termination target it receives from the BSC or RNC. To make the determination, the BSC or RNC could use a functional relation between signal-to-noise and duration value, a look-up table, or other form of computer-executable function.

In still further accordance with the example embodiment, the message used to convey the signal-to-noise measure from the sector (or BTS) to the BSC or RNC could be an existing message, such as a Pilot Strength Measurement Message (PSMM), or could be a new message type. Similarly, the message used to convey the dynamically-determined virtual termination target from BSC or RNC to the sector (or BTS) could be an existing message, such as a Handoff Direction Message, or could be a new message type.

Making the determination of the duration of extended frame decoding at the controlling entity (BSC, RNC, or the like) could also provide a way for the relative sizes of E_(c)/I₀ (or running average values of E_(c)/I₀) at the two BTSs to be explicitly accounted for in the determination. That is, beyond just centralizing individual determinations of virtual termination target for each BTS, the controlling entity could include a direct comparison the signal-to-noise values received from each BTS in its determinations for each BTS. In doing so, the controlling entity could further adjust the virtual termination target determined for each BTS based on the relative sizes of E_(c)/I₀ measured by each BTS.

In yet further accordance with the example embodiment, the base station or other entity that determines virtual termination target based on signal-to-noise (e.g., sector, BTS, BSC, RNC, etc.) will maintain a table that correlates particular values of virtual termination target with ranges of signal-to-noise. FIG. 5 depicts an example of such a “Virtual Termination Target Look-Up Table” 500. As illustrated, the look-up table 500 has one column that lists six ranges of values of E_(c)/I₀ (designated as x in units of dB) in increasing order from a minimum value range of x≦−24 dB to a maximum value range of x>−19 dB. The table 500 also has a second, column that lists six corresponding virtual termination values (in millisecond) in increasing order from a minimum value of 2 ms to a maximum value of 10 ms. For example, a measured value of E_(c)/I₀ of −22.3 dB would fall in the range −23 dB<x≦−21 dB, and, according to the table, correspond to a virtual termination target of 6 ms. It will be appreciated that the neither present invention or embodiments thereof are limited to the specific values listed in look-up table 500, and that more or fewer values and/or different values of signal-to-noise and virtual termination target could be used.

The look-up table 500 (or a similar data structure) could be stored in one or another form of physical memory of the base station, such as magnetic disk, “random access memory” (RAM), or the like. In operation, the base station (or other determining entity) could consult the stored table in order to determine the virtual termination target that should be used for a given access terminal based on the measured signal-to-noise. More specifically, the base station could look up the virtual termination target based on the measured E_(c)/I₀ for the given access terminal and the range in which it falls in the table.

It will be appreciated that the inclusion of just two BTSs in the illustrative discussion above should not be viewed as limiting with respect to the present invention or embodiments thereof, and that additional BTSs (or sectors, for example) could be included. Each additional BTS (or sector) could be configured either to make its own independent determination of extended decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise for a given access terminal, or to send signal-to-noise measurements for the given access terminal to a common controlling entity (e.g., BSC or RNC) and adjust the duration based on responses from the controlling entity.

4. IMPLEMENTATION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

The example embodiment of dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise described above can be implemented as a method in a base station (e.g., sector, BTS, BSC, RNC, etc.) that is part of a wireless communication system that operates according to a CDMA family of protocols, such as the one described above in connection with FIG. 2. The next subsection provides logical steps and operations of the method of an example embodiment of dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise. Example means for carrying out the method in a base station are described in the subsequent subsection.

a. Example Method

FIG. 6 depicts an example method carried out by a base station of the example embodiment of dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise in the form of a logical flowchart. The steps could be implemented as software, firmware, and/or hardware instructions stored in physical memory of a base station, and executed by one or more general purpose and/or special purpose processors.

At the start 601 the base station is serving an access terminal in an active voice or data session. In particular, the base station will be receiving frame transmissions from the access terminal on the reverse link. This is indicated at step 602 where the base station continues to receive a frame transmission from the access terminal during a current nominal frame period.

At step 603, the base station attempts to decode the frame transmission during the current nominal frame period. Note that the separation between steps 602 and 603 of receiving the frame transmission and decoding is made for the purpose of discussion. In practice, the two operations may be carried out concurrently, which could be indicated by combining steps 602 and 603.

Step 604 marks the point in time at which the nominal termination target for the current nominal frame period is reached. At this point, the base station begins receiving the next incoming frame transmission from the access terminal in the next nominal frame period. This is indicated by the arrow from step 604 labeled “Next” that returns to step 602. Concurrently with the start of the next incoming frame, the base station also begins an extended decoding interval for the current frame—i.e., the incoming frame transmission that just completed at the nominal termination target. This is indicated by the arrow from step 604 labeled “Current” that points to step 606. For purposes of the present discussion, the term “current frame” shall refer to the just-finished frame transmission, which corresponds to the nominal frame period that ended at step 604 as the next one began.

At step 606, the base station determines if a frame error occurred. That is, the base station determines whether or not the current frame transmission was successfully decoded into a frame by the time of the nominal termination target. If no frame error occurred (“No” branch from step 606), then the process returns to step 602, where the next frame transmission continues to be received. Note that this corresponds a successful nominal frame period, so that no extended decoding interval needs to be carried out. In this case, the extended decoding interval referenced in step 604 never actually happens, except to determine that extended decoding is not needed.

If a frame error has occurred (“Yes” branch from step 606), then the process moves to step 608, wherein the extended decoding interval commences. In this case, the preceding nominal frame period was unsuccessful, so an extended decoding interval is carried out for the current frame.

At step 610, the virtual termination target is determined based on the measured signal-to-noise of the transmission power level from the access terminal. In accordance with the example embodiment, the determination is made by consulting a Virtual Termination Target Look-Up Table 609. For instance, the Virtual Termination Target Look-Up Table 609 could correspond to the Table 500 described above. A dotted arrow pointing from a Virtual Termination Target Look-Up Table 609 to step 610 represents the look-up action that results in the determination of the virtual termination target.

Note that while the determination step 610 appears in sequence following the commencement of the extended decoding interval at step 608, the measurement of E_(c)/I₀ (or some other signal-to-noise metric) and the determination of virtual termination target based on that measurement could, in practice, be carried out as a separate or parallel process. For example, the base station could engage in a periodic process of E_(c)/I₀ measurement and determination of virtual termination target that continually (and dynamically) adjusts the virtual termination target for the access terminal. In this case, steps 608 and 610 (and consultation of Virtual Termination Target Look-Up Table 609) could just be representative of consulting the latest, dynamically-set value of virtual termination target.

At step 612, the base station continues the extended decoding interval until the virtual termination target is reached, and then determines at step 614 if there is a frame error. Since the determination is made at the virtual termination target, step 614 corresponds to a determination of the success (or lack thereof) of the extended decoding interval.

If a frame error has occurred (“Yes” branch from step 614), the frame error is noted. For example, the frame error may be recorded or tallied for purposes of measuring a frame error rate. The process then returns to step 602, where the next frame transmission continues to be received.

If a frame error has not occurred (“No” branch from step 614), the successfully-received frame is processed. For example, the data are extracted and passed to a higher protocol layer. The process then returns to step 602, where the next frame transmission continues to be received.

It will be appreciated that the steps shown in FIG. 6 are meant to illustrate operation of an example embodiment of dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise. As such, various steps could be altered or modified, and the ordering of certain steps could be changed, while still achieving the overall desired operation.

b. Example Base Station

FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram depicting functional components of an example base station (or BTS) 702 in which dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise may be implemented according, for example, to the example method described above. As shown in FIG. 7, the example base station 702, representative of BTS 204, BSC 206 integrated with BTS 204 FIG. 2, for instance, includes a transceiver 704, network interface 706, a processing unit 714, and data storage 708, all of which may be coupled together by a system bus 716 or other mechanism. In addition, the base station may also include external storage, such as magnetic or optical disk storage, although this is not shown in FIG. 7.

These components may be arranged to support conventional operation in a wireless communication network that is compliant with a CDMA family of protocols, such as network 200 illustrated in FIG. 2. The details of such an arrangement and how these components function to provide conventional operation are well-known in the art, and are not described further herein. Certain aspects of base station 702 relevant to dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise are discussed briefly below.

Network interface 706 enables communication on a network, such network 200. As such, network interface 706 may take the form of trunk or optical link that can be coupled with a TDM switch such as MSC 208, or an Ethernet network interface card or other physical connection that can be coupled with PCF 214, for instance. Further, network interface 706 in combination with transceiver 704, which may include one or more BTS antennas, enables air interface communication one or more access terminals, supporting reception of data frames on the ATs' reverse links and user traffic and control on the ATs' forward links.

Processing unit 714 comprises one or more general-purpose processors (e.g., INTEL microprocessors) and/or one or more special-purpose processors (e.g., dedicated digital signal processor, application specific integrated circuit, etc.). In turn, the data storage 708 comprises one or more volatile and/or non-volatile storage components, such as magnetic or optical memory or disk storage. Data storage 708 can be integrated in whole or in part with processing unit 714, as cache memory or registers for instance. As further shown, data storage 708 is equipped to hold program logic 710 and program data 712.

Program logic 710 may comprise machine language instructions that define routines executable by processing unit 714 to carry out various functions described herein. In particular the program logic, communication interface, and transceiver may operate cooperatively to carry out logical operation such as that discussed above and illustrated in FIG. 6. Further, program data 712 may be arranged to store a Virtual Termination Target Look-Up Table, such as the example table illustrated in FIG. 5, and other data in conjunction with the logical operations described above.

It will be appreciated that there can be numerous specific implementations of dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise in base station, such base station 702 illustrated in FIG. 7. Additionally, base station 702 could be considered as representative of a single device, such as a sector or BTS, at which both measurement of signal-to-noise and determination of extended decoding duration are carried out. Alternatively, base station 702 could be considered as representative of each of two devices, such as a BTS and a BSC or RNC, wherein signal-to-noise is measured at the BTS and reported to the BSC or RNC, and wherein the BSC or RNC determines the appropriate extended decoding interval duration and sends the determined duration back to the BTS. Further, one of skill in the art would understand how to devise and build such an implementation. As such, base station 702 is representative of means for carrying out the methods of dynamic adjustment of extended frame decoding interval duration based on signal-to-noise in accordance with the functions and steps described herein by way of example.

5. CONCLUSION

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention has been described above. Those skilled in the art will understand, however, that changes and modifications may be made to this embodiment without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention, which is defined by the claims. 

I claim:
 1. A method comprising: at a base station having an air interface, during a nominal time interval equal to one frame, receiving a transmission on the air interface from an access terminal being served by the base station; at the base station, upon completion of the nominal time interval, making a determination that the transmission has not been successfully decoded into a frame of data; at the base station, in response to making the determination, commencing an extended decoding interval during which attempted decoding of the transmission continues; at the base station, making a signal-to-noise measurement of transmission power received on the air interface from the access terminal; at the base station, dynamically adjusting an end time of the extended decoding interval based on the signal-to-noise measurement, the dynamically adjusted end time being measured from a time of completion of the nominal time interval; and at the base station, continuing attempted decoding of the transmission until the dynamically adjusted end time of the extended decoding interval.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the base station and the access terminal both operate according to a CDMA family of protocols, including 1×-RTT, and wherein making the signal-to-noise measurement of transmission power received on the air interface from the access terminal comprises measuring E_(c)/I₀ of a signal received from the access terminal.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the base station and the access terminal both operate according to a CDMA family of protocols, including 1×-RTT, and wherein the time of completion of the nominal time interval corresponds to a nominal termination target, and the dynamically adjusted end time corresponds to a virtual termination target.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein dynamically adjusting the end time of the extended decoding interval based on the signal-to-noise measurement comprises dynamically adjusting a duration of the extended decoding interval based on the signal-to-noise measurement.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein dynamically adjusting the duration of the extended decoding interval based on the signal-to-noise measurement comprises dynamically adjusting the duration of the extended decoding interval based on a functional relationship between duration values and signal-to-noise values, whereby according to the functional relationship, the duration values increase with increasing signal-to-noise values.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein dynamically adjusting the end time of the extended decoding interval based on the signal-to-noise measurement comprises determining the end time of the extended decoding interval from a look-up table that correlates each of one or more ranges of signal-to-noise values with a corresponding value of end time.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the base station is configured to be controlled by a base station controller in a wireless communication network, and wherein dynamically adjusting the end time of the extended decoding interval based on the signal-to-noise measurement comprises: transmitting a first message including the signal-to-noise measurement to the base station controller via a communicative connection to the base station controller; and thereafter receiving a second message from the base station controller in response to the first message, the second message including the dynamically adjusted end time.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: upon completion of the extended decoding interval at the dynamically adjusted end time, determining whether the transmission has been successfully decoded into a frame of data.
 9. A base station comprising: one or more processors; memory accessible by the one or more processors; and machine-language instructions stored in the memory the when executed by the one or more processors cause the base station to carry out functions including: receiving a transmission on an air interface from an access terminal being served by the base station during a nominal time interval equal to one frame, making a determination that the transmission has not been successfully decoded into a frame of data upon completion of the nominal time interval, in response to making the determination, commencing an extended decoding interval during which attempted decoding of the transmission continues, making a signal-to-noise measurement of transmission power received on the air interface from the access terminal, dynamically adjusting an end time of the extended decoding interval based on the signal-to-noise measurement, wherein the determined end time is measured from a time of completion of the nominal time interval, and continuing attempted decoding of the transmission until the dynamically adjusted end time of the extended decoding interval.
 10. The base station of claim 9, wherein the base station is configured to operate according to a CDMA family of protocols, including 1×-RTT, and wherein making the signal-to-noise measurement of transmission power received on the air interface from the access terminal comprises measuring E_(c)/I₀ of a signal received from the access terminal.
 11. The base station of claim 9, wherein the base station is configured to operate according to a CDMA family of protocols, including 1×-RTT, and wherein the time of completion of the nominal time interval corresponds to a nominal termination target, and the dynamically adjusted end time corresponds to a virtual termination target.
 12. The base station of claim 9, wherein dynamically adjusting the end time of the extended decoding interval based on the signal-to-noise measurement comprises dynamically adjusting a duration of the extended decoding interval based on the signal-to-noise measurement.
 13. The base station of claim 12, wherein dynamically adjusting the duration of the extended decoding interval based on the signal-to-noise measurement comprises dynamically adjusting the duration of the extended decoding interval based on a functional relationship between duration values and signal-to-noise values, whereby according to the functional relationship, the duration values increase with increasing signal-to-noise values.
 14. The base station of claim 9, wherein dynamically adjusting the end time of the extended decoding interval based on the signal-to-noise measurement comprises determining the end time of the extended decoding interval from a look-up table that correlates each of one or more ranges of signal-to-noise values with a corresponding value of end time.
 15. The base station of claim 9, wherein the base station is configured to be controlled by a base station controller in a wireless communication network, and wherein dynamically adjusting the end time of the extended decoding interval based on the signal-to-noise measurement comprises: transmitting a first message including the signal-to-noise measurement to the base station controller via a communicative connection to the base station controller; and thereafter receiving a second message from the base station controller in response to the first message, the second message including the dynamically adjusted end time.
 16. The base station of claim 9, wherein the functions further include: upon completion of the extended decoding interval at the dynamically adjusted end time, determining whether the transmission has been successfully decoded into a frame of data.
 17. A method comprising: at a device configured to control a plurality of wireless coverage areas of a wireless communication system, wherein the plurality includes at least a first wireless coverage area and a second wireless coverage area, receiving from the first wireless coverage area a first signal-to-noise measurement of transmission power received at the first wireless coverage area from a given access terminal; at the device, receiving from the second wireless coverage area a second signal-to-noise measurement of transmission power received at the second wireless coverage area from the given access terminal; at the device, determining a first time duration of a first extended decoding interval based at least on the received first signal-to-noise measurement, wherein the first extended decoding interval is an interval of continued decoding carried out by the first wireless coverage area when a preceding first nominal interval of decoding by the first wireless coverage area of a transmission from the given access terminal fails to decode a frame of data; at the device, determining a second time duration of a second extended decoding interval based at least on the received second signal-to-noise measurement, wherein the second extended decoding interval is an interval of continued decoding carried out by the second wireless coverage area when a preceding second nominal interval of decoding by the second wireless coverage area of a transmission from the given access terminal fails to decode a frame of data; at the device, transmitting a first message including the first time duration to the first wireless coverage area; and at the device, transmitting a second message including the second time duration to the second wireless coverage area.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the device and the plurality of wireless coverage areas are configured to operated according to a CDMA family of protocols, including 1×-RTT, wherein the device is one of a base station controller or a radio node controller, wherein each of the plurality of wireless coverage areas is one of a cell or a sector, wherein the first signal-to-noise measurement corresponds to a measurement made by the first wireless coverage area of E_(c)/I₀ of a signal from the given access terminal, and the second signal-to-noise measurement corresponds to a measurement made by the second wireless coverage area of E_(c)/I₀ of a signal from the given access terminal, wherein the first nominal interval has a completion time corresponding to a first nominal termination target, and the second nominal interval has a completion time corresponding to a second nominal termination target, wherein determining the first time duration of the first extended decoding interval comprises determining a first virtual termination target measured relative the first nominal termination target, and wherein determining the second time duration of the second extended decoding interval comprises determining a second virtual termination target measured relative the second nominal termination target.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the first time duration of the first extended decoding interval based at least on the received first signal-to-noise measurement comprises determining the first duration based on a functional relationship between duration values and signal-to-noise values, whereby according to the functional relationship, the duration values increase with increasing signal-to-noise values, and wherein determining the second time duration of the second extended decoding interval based at least on the received second signal-to-noise measurement comprises determining the second duration based on the functional relationship between duration values and signal-to-noise values.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the first time duration of the first extended decoding interval based at least on the received first signal-to-noise measurement comprises determining the first time duration from a look-up table that correlates each of one or more ranges of signal-to-noise values with a corresponding value of time duration, and wherein determining the second time duration of the second extended decoding interval based at least on the received second signal-to-noise measurement comprises determining the second time duration from the look-up table.
 21. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the first time duration of the first extended decoding interval based at least on the received first signal-to-noise measurement comprises determining the first time duration based on a comparison of the first signal-to-noise measurement to the second signal-to-noise measurement, and wherein determining the second time duration of the second extended decoding interval based at least on the received second signal-to-noise measurement comprises determining the second time duration based on a comparison of the second signal-to-noise measurement to the first signal-to-noise measurement.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein determining the first time duration based on the comparison of the first signal-to-noise measurement to the second signal-to-noise measurement comprises determining a first value for the first time duration that is proportional to a ratio of the first signal-to-noise measurement to the second signal-to-noise measurement, and wherein determining the second time duration based on the comparison of the second signal-to-noise measurement to the first signal-to-noise measurement comprises determining a second value for the second time duration that is proportional to a ratio of the second signal-to-noise measurement to the first signal-to-noise measurement.
 23. The method of claim 21, wherein the plurality of wireless coverage areas includes a third wireless coverage area, and wherein the method further comprises: at the device, receiving from the third wireless coverage area a third signal-to-noise measurement of transmission power received at the third wireless coverage area from the given access terminal; at the device, determining a third time duration of a third extended decoding interval based at least on the received third signal-to-noise measurement, wherein the third extended decoding interval is an interval of continued decoding carried out by the third wireless coverage area when a preceding third nominal interval of decoding by the third wireless coverage area of a transmission from the given access terminal fails to decode a frame of data; and at the device, transmitting a third message including the third time duration to the third wireless coverage area.
 24. A non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, if executed a processor of a base station, cause the base station to perform functions comprising: during a nominal time interval equal to one frame, receiving a transmission on an air interface from an access terminal being served by the base station; upon completion of the nominal time interval, making a determination that the transmission has not been successfully decoded into a frame of data; in response to making the determination, commencing an extended decoding interval during which attempted decoding of the transmission continues; making a signal-to-noise measurement of transmission power received on the air interface from the access terminal; dynamically adjusting an end time of the extended decoding interval based on the signal-to-noise measurement, the dynamically end time being measured from a time of completion of the nominal time interval; and continuing attempted decoding of the transmission until the dynamically end time of the extended decoding interval. 